Look through our portfolios to see who you want to work with. We have a lot of overlap but we all have our specialties and preferences.
Even if you really want us to do your tattoo, we may not think it's a good fit and may recommend a different artist to you that would be better suited. Sometimes even at a different shop.

It's not that we don't like you or your idea, we just want you to have a great tattoo. To do that we have to put our best into it. If it's something we are not into doing we can't put our best in it.

Sure, we do have some walk-in availability. However it is strictly on a first come; first serve basis.

We do recommend you call ahead to see if an artist is available or around what time someone might be available.
This is not a guarantee of any sort just letting you know how busy we are currently. The minute we hang up the phone if 10 people walk in the door they were here first regardless of what we told you over the phone.

You cannot reserve our time or book an appointment by just calling ahead. Callers are notorious for saying "I'll be there in 10-15 minutes" then disappearing into a wrinkle in time showing up 2 hours later or into a black hole and not showing up at all.

Please be aware that we may be squeezing you in around other appointments, so we may be limited on the time that we can spend on it that day.
Just because we aren't tattooing doesn't mean we are free necessarily. Much of our time is spent working on drawings for upcoming appointments.

Since we are a custom shop you may have to wait for us to draw your tattoo. There is no TV-editing-commercial-break that makes drawings magically appear. Usually could add a few minutes to an hour to the total time you are waiting. For more complicated drawings most likely you will have to book an appoinment if we need more time to complete it.

Yes!!! This is always the preferred and recommended way for us to work. Some of us are booked months in advanced, some only a few days.
The best way to get tattooed by the artist you want, when you want, is to come in and book an appointment.

I'm Local
The best thing to do is come by the shop and speak to the artist you would like to work with directly. This helps us get a better feel for what you have in mind. It lets us figure out the size of the tattoo and better estimate how much time we will need. We can see if you have any existing pieces we are working around or covering. From there we are able to give you a much more accurate price quote. We also require a deposit to hold your appointment spot. The requirement varies from artist to artist and piece to piece but for smaller tattoos there is a $50 MINIMUM deposit. The Deposit will come out of the cost of your tattoo on the LAST appointment.

I live in Abu Dhabi
If you live more than an hour away and want to get tattooed we can still help you. We have many clients that are all over the world. Some travel to specifically get tattooed by us and others make us a stop on their vacation or business trip. If this is you It's a little tougher of a process but basically we can work by email to figure out all the details. Either email the main shop address info@inkandpistons.com or email the artist you want to work with directly. Be sure to include:

Your name

Phone number

Date range that you will be in the area

Description the tattoo

Location on Body (photos helpful)

Rough size of the area/tattoo

Any reference materials we need to get an idea of what you are looking for.

Based on that info we will tell you if we are available to do it on those dates or suggest alternative dates. We try our best to take care of our out-of-towners but we can get quite booked up so without a couple of weeks notice or more it may be difficult to get you scheduled. Once we ok a date for you we can take a deposit on our website. Then we will start getting your artwork ready.

Deposits are required to make an appointment. Deposits are non-refundable. They secure your appointment, and will be deducted from the final price of your tattoo on your final session.

We will not start drawing anything for you past a quick sketch without a deposit. Why? Tell you what wash my car and after your done I'll tell you if I like it or not and decide to pay you after that. See that doesn't work.

•Deposits for small tattoos are $50 (tattoos up to $200)
•Deposits or larger single session tattoos are $100 (tattoos up to 2hrs)
•Any session work tattoos require a $200 deposit. (tattoos taking 3hrs or more)

If you are local deposits must be made in person and in cash. We cannot take deposits over the phone.
Only non-local clients can leave credit card deposits via our website. Even though it's like another country Miami is still considered local. If you are serious about getting a tattoo, get your ass over here in person.

Shit happens, we get it. You may cancel or reschedule an appointment if you give us at least 24hrs notice via email, with no fee or penalty.
We would prefer more time, at least a week, so we can fill your time slot. Please don't call on Sunday or Monday and leave a message when we are closed if your appointment is Tuesday, email us. You don't have to immediately re-book, but the sooner you do, the sooner we can get you back on the schedule.

If you decide not to get tattooed you don't get your deposit back. Hence non-refundable. It will be a SMALL consolation for the artist's time spent consulting with you, drawing your tattoo, and or passing on other clients for you. This isn't McDonalds if we don't tattoo, we don't get paid.

A no-show, no-call is someone who misses an appointment without calling in an adequate amount of time prior or just doesn't show up at all. We REQUIRE At least 24hrs notice on all rescheduling. No-shows inconvenience other clients who wish to secure appointments and create holes in the schedule of the staff. A failure to arrive at the appointed time is just as bad and causes us to displace other clients. Please be in the shop and ready to go at the time your appointment starts or a few minutes sooner.
This isnt a Doctors office. WE DO NOT CALL YOU TO CONFIRM OR REMIND YOU OF YOUR APPOINTMENT.
When we book your appointment you will get a card with your appointment date and time. If you lose it or forget it call us. Write it down, put it in your phone. Give yourself a weekly reminder and then another reminder a couple days before. Whatever you have to do. It is YOUR responsibility to know when your appointment is. You're a big girl now act like it.

If you No-Show/No-call you will lose your original deposit to cover the loss of revenue for the artist. You will have to leave a deposit in the amount of the entire tattoo (or in the case of a large multiple session tattoo an entire session cost) before we will reschedule you for a new appointment.

Once you are re booked, if you do it again you will also lose that entire deposit as well and we will not be tattooing you. If the tattoo is not important enough for you to remember your appointment, then your business is not important to us.

If you are running late just please call us to let us know it's that easy, but keep in mind your appointment starts on time with or without you and you are paying us by the hour. If you don't call after 30 minutes we reserve the right to cancel your appointment so we can try to fill the spot. This will be considered a No-Show and you will lose your deposit.

Obviously if we are the ones running late prior to your appointment we will not charge you for that time and will try to notify you of any delays over 30 minutes.

At the end of the day we have bills just like everyone else and depend on the appointments we make to pay them. We appreciate proper communication so that we can make adjustments in our appointments… even if it means you have totally changed your mind, or something came up and you can't afford it we will respect your honesty more than we would like our time being wasted.

Since the prices can vary greatly the best thing to do is to talk directly to your artist. Give them all the information as far as size, location, color and they can do their best to give you a pretty good ball park.
Even then sometimes we can't hit our estimates but we always try to get really close. Everyone's skin tattoos a little different so we are constantly adjusting speed and technique for your unique tattoo and skin type. If we are off by a few minutes on a small piece the price won't really swing more than $20-50 bucks but on larger pieces the difference of a couple of hours can be as much as $200-400 dollars.

The only estimate we can tell you with 100% certainty is that our Shop minimum is $60 bucks. That is for little tiny bangers, small names, etc. Anything over that will be determined by the artist. Most large pieces are priced by a flat session fee or flat hourly rate. Asking our hourly rates doesn't really matter if you don't know how fast or slow an artist is.

We are not selling cars don't try to haggle.
We are not trying to milk you for all we can. We are basing out estimate on the time and complexity of the piece. And giving you a fair price for it. If what you want is too expensive, then tell us what your budget is and we might be able to work something up within that. It just might not be exactly the size or as complex as your original idea.
If you haven't heard it before the old saying goes: Good Tattoos Aren't Cheap & Cheap Tattoos Aren't Good. While this isn't necessarily true in every instance, Our philosophy is giving you a great product for a reasonable price.

Are you happy with your new tattoo? Tip away! We price the tattoos without consideration for a tip, so it is not in any way required, but we do appreciate it. It does show us that you are happy with what we have done for you. There is no real set way to tip for our industry. Many people calculate a 10-20%. Some people just do even increments like 20, 50 or 100+. Tip what you feel comfortable. All tip money goes directly to the artist.

"It's My First Tattoo…"
Don't worry we've serviced plenty of tattoo virgins. Shit, we were all even tattoo virgins at one point. Here are some of the popular first timer questions:

Yup, However it's not the worst thing you've ever felt though. Suck it up, sit still, don't tense up and breath deep and it will be over soon. The more you move around, fidget and complain the longer it takes us to do our job. Once we are done you forget about how "terrible" it was and you'll be already planning your next one.

Nooope, we will under no circumstances tattoo you if you are under the influence of mind/mood altering drugs and or alcohol, legal or otherwise.
It may help you think you did such a great job handling the pain, but most likely you are not sitting still or and being really annoying and don't even care or realize it. Do not bring illegal drugs or alcohol into our shop. (Yes I know we have an open bar at our art shows but you will not be getting tattooed those days if you are drinking)

I don't know, how much does a car cost? Could be 100 bucks for a crappy one or it could be a million dollar Bentley… See where we are going with this?
Pricing can vary greatly according to the difficulty and the time involved. Sleeves, back pieces and larger more complex tattoos can cost thousands of dollars, while smaller and simpler things cost significantly less. Since the prices can vary greatly the best thing to do is to talk to your artist give them all the information as far as size, location, color and they can do their best to give you a pretty good ball park.
Even then sometimes we can't hit our estimates but we always try to get really close. Everyone's skin tattoos a little different so we are constantly adjusting speed and technique for your unique tattoo and skin type. If we are off by a few minutes on a small piece the price won't really swing more than $20-50 bucks but on larger pieces the difference of a couple of hours can be as much as $200-400 dollars.

The only estimate we can tell you with 100% certainty is that our Shop minimum is $60 bucks. That is for little tiny bangers, small names, etc. Anything over that will be determined by the artist. Most large pieces are priced by a flat session fee or flat hourly rate. Asking our hourly rates doesn't really matter if you don't know how fast or slow an artist is.

We are not selling cars don't try to haggle.
We are not trying to milk you for all we can. We are basing out estimate on the time and complexity of the piece. And giving you a fair price for it. If what you want is too expensive, then tell us what your budget is and we might be able to work something up within that. It just might not be exactly the size or as complex as your original idea.
If you haven't heard it before the old saying goes: Good Tattoos Aren't Cheap & Cheap Tattoos Aren't Good. While this isn't necessarily true in every instance, Our philosophy is giving you a great product for a reasonable price.

Sweet, good luck with that. After you've finished your rounds of antibiotics from whatever strain of bacteria your boy wasn't able to properly disinfect or sterilize, go get yourself checked for hepatitis and then come see us we can fix the piece of shit tattoo, but now it's really gonna cost you.

Tattooing in the State of Florida by a non-licensed artist or at a non-licensed shop Is a felony (for them not you, you'd just be dumb) If they are not at a shop there is probably a good reason and the savings aren't the only thing they may be passing on to you.

Are you happy with your new tattoo? Tip away! We price the tattoos without consideration for a tip, so it is not in any way required, but we do appreciate it. It does show us that you are happy with what we have done for you. There is no real set way to tip for our industry. Many people calculate a 10-20%. Some people just do even increments like 20, 50 or 100+. Tip what you feel comfortable. All tip money goes directly to the artist.

We can make the tattoos look awesome where you want them, but we can't really tell you what's right for you. We will tell you if a tattoo is too small or big or too detailed for an area, or if it will look bad over time as your body changes. If you are young and or in a business professional line of work you probably don't want to get your neck, hands or face tattooed. Other than that most everything else is fair game and can be covered by clothing if needed.

As far as what will hurt the least, it's all kind of relative to you. What hurts one person may not really bother another. It's more important to get it where you want it. A little extra hurt for a short period of time is well worth having a tattoo forever where you want it.

Can it be smaller? Sure. Will it look shitty in a few years? Most likely. We know, you don't want you Dad/Mom to see it and yell at you for getting a tattoo. Think about it this way do you want Mom to be right in 20 years because you have a shitty blurry tattoo… or Mom still hates it 20 years later, but at least it looks good. Rule of thumb when in doubt go bigger.

First EVERYONE NEEDS AN ID TO BE TATTOOED each time you come in. No Exceptions!!!
To get tattooed without parental consent you must be at least 18. Most of our artists will not tattoo anyone under 18. However occasionally and soley at the discretion of the artist, we may tattoo someone who is over 16. That is a state law. We cannot and will not tattoo anyone younger than 16. In those rare cases we do tattoo a minor They must have the following items:

The minor getting tattooed must have with them a **STATE ISSUED photo ID

A notarized and signed parental consent form

We also need the signing Parents ID for our records.

The parent who signed must be present for the entire procedure.

It's a felony for you to use a fake ID, so please don't bring those in. We have no problem calling the cops you little hoodlums.

Sure, but keep in mind, unless you or whoever drew it is an actual tattoo artist the art will most likely not suitable for tattooing. It does help us figure out what's in your head but a simple sketch can do that too we have lot of training and experience in knowing what looks good and what will make a good, readable tattoo for years to come. We have to weigh many factors including how tattoos age and how much detail can be put in one area. Just remember we will likely have to make minor changes or even completely redesign it even if it's sentimental because they drew it for you. Plus you or your friend may not be a very good artist, that's ok its's not your job its ours.

That's cool so did 900,000 other people and they are all rushing to their tattoo artists with that same tattoo. Nothing wrong with being inspired by something you saw but don't get married to it. We try our best not to copy anyone else's original tattoos.. Now there are some exceptions to this like traditional old school tattoo flash or if you are getting a matching tattoo. But nine times out of 10 we can come up with as cool of a design that doesn't infringe too much on something someone else has done. And now you will have an original tattoo to post on Pintrest! Which in all likely hood someone else will steal. See how that works it's the circle of li... hakuna matata

Don't get us wrong bringing references are great. If you want a specific bird bring us a picture of that bird, not a picture of a tattoo of that bird.
If you like a certain style or layout on the body but don't know what to call it or can't explain it you can bring in an existing tattoo as reference. Don't worry if it doesn't match the subject matter we can look at it and recognize what it is you like about it and go that direction with our art work.

When you search on google dig a little deeper if you search for a 'rose' the first page is filed with pictures people have used for references of tattoos. Try to click a few pages in. Don't even add the word tattoo to your searches until you are looking for style.

If you don't eat ahead of time you may get light headed. So try to get a good night's sleep and have a good meal prior to coming in, but don't over eat or stuff yourself. Having a little sugar in your system within about an hour of getting tattooed is good so grab a candy bar or a soda before your appointment. And bring something to drink either water, soda or Gatorade. You will likely be sweaty so it's important to get some fluids back in you.

Sure one person is allowed with you in the tattoo area at a time. Please don't bring an entourage unless you are all getting tattooed or have serious questions about future tattoos. The more people the more distracted you get and often can't focus on your breathing and sitting still. Nothing worse than seven people showing up for one person's tattoo. Yeah we get it you're popular.

We do NOT allow children in our tattoo studio. If your child is 12 or older, they may sit in our reception area WITH adult supervision as long as they behave themselves.

Babies and infants and toddlers don't know how to be quiet, and you shaking them and saying "shhhhhhhhh" makes it even worse. So while you've learned to tune out their whining, we have not.
We hear every little giggle, cry, and noise your child makes and its massively distracting.
Please understand that our artists are creating custom, permanent designs and having young children in the studio is not safe for them and does not create a comfortable environment for artists
or clients getting tattooed.

If you plan on getting tattooed please find a babysitter prior to your appointment. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.

Well you got us there. Yes if you're bringing your children to get their ears pierced then that is totally acceptable because now they are our clients and if our clients are crying, we know we are doing our job. Plus we can close the piercing door.

For the most part tattoos are fairly safe and won't cause you anymore pain then a scraped knee and no more discomfort than a bad sunburn.
As long as you follow the aftercare instructions you are provided by us, you should not have any complications from the procedure itself. Most problems occur when you leave the shop and fail to treat the tattoo properly. Keep in mind you have bacteria on you at all times. Just like any open wound they are susceptible to infection or complications. Many issues can be avoided by washing it regularly, but not over washing, Keeping a LIGHT coat of lotion on it, Washing hands before you or anyone touches it and keeping away from pets and animals.

All of our artists are state licensed in proper blood borne pathogens training and infection controls. We use universal precautions for all of our clients to eliminate any chances of cross contamination. All needles and inks used are disposed of after each client. The rest of our equipment is either disposed of after each procedure, Scrubbed, cleaned and Sterilized in our Autoclave or Statim, or Disinfected with an appropriate germicidal solution.

This is a dependent on a lot of factors. The darker your skin tone the less bright colors will appear. All inks are translucent, they are your skin color plus the pigment color so if you are really light skinned colors will be truer to what you see in the bottle. Blues for example will have a tendency to take on a greenish tint if your skin has a light tan or brownish tint. Reds will usually get darker but still be recognizable as red the darker your skin. Our artist are very knowledgeable in color theory and color management for tattoos on all skin types and can advise you on what will show up best and look best on your unique skin shade.

Healing Questions
Here are a couple of questions we often get regarding the healing and aftercare process. See our Aftercare section for more specific directions on healing your tattoo.

Everyone heals a little different. On average your tattoo will heal in about two to three weeks. Maybe less if you followed the instructions carefully
What you can expect:
Your tattoo will most likely be sore for a few days to a week at the same time there will be the following phases.
•scabbing phase 3-7 days (sometimes no scabs at all and right to dry flaky phase)
•dry flaky skin phase 3-7 days
•milky white/leathery phase 3-7 days

Absolutely not, so plan around it.
No Pool for 2 weeks minimum ideally 3, you must be past the leathery stage completely before submerging it in water chlorinated or otherwise. No Virginia, the ocean salt water is not good for your open wound.
No extended sun either. Sun on a fresh tattoo is one of the worst things for a tattoo. That skin will burn immediately and then you will peal again and most likely loose color and have to touch it up. And we can tell, so keep it covered.
Short showers are fine. But try to keep it under 15 minutes ladies and try to keep it covered even from incidental sun exposure.

Probably not, as you are healing little flakes of colored skin will be coming off in chunks or in thin layers like a sunburn. Totally normal. Tattooing causes damage to the top few layers of skin causing them to regenerate and fall off. Since we tattooed through those layers that are now coming off you are looking at the ink stained remnants of that dead skin. Just don't help it out or pick at it. It will come off on its own after a couple days to a couple of weeks. If you pick you could pull a piece that is more attached than it looks and cause it to pull the tattoo pigment out permanently. Stay away from exfoliants and loofas too.

Your friends are idiots first off, never listen to them. There are several different ways to heal tattoos, and every artist has their own special preference and instructions. Even within our shop we each have different techniques. But universally we have agreed upon an simple set of instructions. They are the easiest, cheapest and require the least amount of effort to heal your tattoo. Since we did it and we are guaranteeing it, listen to what we are telling you. See Aftercare sections for specifics.

Maybe, is it new or old? Sometimes after peeling you have a layer of fresh new milky white skin on top that gives a faded appearance, that will go away in a few weeks.
If it's really old, maybe it really does need touch up. We would have to see what's going on to know for sure.

Sun exposure is the biggest contributor to tattoos looking bad or faded. Keep it sun blocked every time you are out in the sun.

Probably not, but send us a picture or come in and let us see it. Make sure you are keeping it clean and washed before coming in.
99% of the time its fine but we would rather have a look to put your mind at ease.

Piercings FAQ's

Shorty didn't do his homework so call the shop and ask for him for all your piercing related questions